Blog Herding: Community Edition 05/03/12

The number of blogs featured this week dips slightly but
are still well worth your attention. In other news, did you know on this day,
30 years ago, Walt Disney Productions filed a lawsuit against Williams
Electronics for infringing on Disney's Tron trademark with the somewhat
similarly titled Robotron?

Defending
The Japanese Video Game IndustryIt's no secret that some question the vitality of the
Japanese video game industry and this exceptional piece by JC does a remarkable
job exploring the topic in succinct detail.

Diablo
3 Observations From A Diablo FanaticA self-proclaimed fan boy and expert on all things
Diablo, ShadowDragyn puts the open beta for the latest episode in Blizzard's
iconic dungeon crawler through its paces and delivers a detailed analysis.

How
Witcher 2 Helps Me Feel Like A Kid AgainIn what is shaping up to be a rather popular blog about The
Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Shootist2600 captivates the audience as he
shares how the beginning of the game was somewhat intimidating.

Playstation
Vita: Where Is It Now?PlayStation's latest handheld gaming device has faced harsh criticism from its earliest stages of development and this blog by gogamenerdkid
highlights many of the reasons why.

I
Like Crappy GamesThe ever snarky, bordering on cynical, Euphoric Ennui openly
admits he enjoys some of the video game industry's bad games and has played
them more than he has some of the best games.

Beauty
And The BeastSupersnake, one of the official Game Informer moderators,
seemingly shares his love of Disney princesses, while
reminding us of the importance of logging off the GI website when you're done visiting.

I
Hate "The End"Something most of us who finish games have had to deal
with at some point in our video game life, Cru Hunter talks about when "The
End" is really the end and how he hates to see a series finish.

Diablo
III Beta ImpressionsJack, The Quixotic Gamer shares his personal experience
playing the open beta for Diablo III with the community in this detailed
account chronicling his travels through the world of Sanctum.

Community Reviews:

Out
With The Old, In With The NewHard to believe Lara Croft made
her first appearance in 1996 and over 15 years later people are still talking
about her, including this review of Tomb Raider Underworld by Euphoric Ennui.

The
Best Anime You've Played This YearOne of Game
Informer's regular user review contributors, Orochi Assassin LEVON describes Asura's
Wrath as an "anime inspired sci-fi brawler mixed with a little Hindu mythology".

The
Walking Dead: The GameYou won't find this review of
The Walking Dead by Frosty in the user reviews section of the website, but it
is so entertaining and articulately written, it deserves to be featured here.

Tell
Me Another Story About The Shepard...Another satisfied Mass Effect 3
player awarding the game a perfect score, JiroGamer SGS provides a simple and
straightforward review of the game describing his experience as Command
Shepard.

Community Podcasts:

Robot
In The Corner Podcast: Episode 2-27The RITC crew has been a bit
sporadic over the past few weeks, but they're here this week and talk about The Walking Dead comic, Trials Evolution,
and the new indie platform game, Fez.

The
Indie & Mojo Show Episode 31Indiejones and Mojomonkey12 welcome
Redlitez76, another member of the Game Informer community, to the show as they
discuss Journey, the Playstation Vita, and Game
of Thrones.

Don't forget to send your feedback, recommendations, and
community events in to my personal Game Informer account located here to
ensure this feature continues to provide the content you're eager to read.